All I Wanted
by cherylwoo
Summary: Yao was just innocently doing his chores by the river. He didn't expect to be kidnapped by pirates who were scouting the area. England/China, a bit of Denmark/Norway. Rated for rape in the first chapter.
1. Chapter 1

Yao had been washing his clothes by the river. It was his turn in his household to do the chore, and he chose to do it very late in the evening, when the sun had set and it was not too hot out. Normally, he would wash the clothes in the morning, as the sun had just risen and the clothes would have the whole day to dry when he hung them out, but he had been occupied that morning, so the only other choice he had was to wash them in the evening.

Yao had been hearing a ruckus for quite a while now. It looked like the sounds were coming from the beach nearby, but Yao ignored them, as they had nothing to do with him – he was just a simple man, minding his own business and washing his clothes.

As Yao was beginning to wash the last of the tops, a large man leapt onto him from the back. A struggle ensued, but the man was much larger and stronger than Yao was, and Yao soon found himself pinned down on the ground. He stared defiantly at his European captor.

The large man was peering down at him curiously. He then broke into a grin. "Hey, Gilbert! Look what I found!"

A tall man with white-blond hair appeared from the bushes, looking disgruntled. "I swear, Mathias, this had better be good – it was your idea to go scout the surrounding area…" He then caught sight of what (or who) Mathias had pinned to the ground. "Who is she?"

Yao felt rather indignant that Gilbert thought he was a woman. But he supposed it wasn't strange; even his own people sometimes thought he was a woman at first sight.

Mathias shrugged. "Don't know," he replied. "I don't think he's a woman," he added, groping around Yao's chest. "No breasts."

"Oh?" Gilbert approached the two figures on the ground.

"Think the Captain will be pleased with him?"

Gilbert laughed loudly. "I don't think – I know!" He used his booted foot to reposition Yao's face so that he was facing Gilbert. "You lucky dog, Mathias – this one's a beauty! The Captain is sure to reward you!"

"I can say that you helped," Mathias replied nonchalantly.

Gilbert waved a hand. "It's okay," he replied. "Come on, let's tie him up and get him onto the ship."

_Ship? What ship?_ Yao was beginning to panic now. He couldn't go with these men! What about his family? His siblings? Yao began to trash and struggle.

With an annoyed grunt, Mathias punched Yao in the stomach, causing Yao to cry out in pain. That did the trick – Yao doubled over in pain and was unable to move.

Quickly, Gilbert grabbed both of Yao's hands and brought them behind his back. With a spare piece of rope he had brought along, he tied Yao's hands together. Gilbert then tore the sleeve of his clothing, rolled it into a ball and stuffed it into Yao's mouth. "That should shut you up for a while," he leered.

Mathias slung Yao over his shoulder.

Yao felt embarrassed at being manhandled in such a manner. His cheeks burned in humiliation as Mathias and Gilbert made their way back to the ship along with him in tow.

As they walked past the beach, Yao could see the remains of his fellow countrymen lying on the beach. A great number of them were decapitated, and some bodies were decimated beyond recognition. Well, at least they died defending their home. Yao didn't know what was going to become of him. As the stench of fresh blood wafted through Yao's nostrils, he had to resist the strong urge to puke.

When Mathias and Gilbert got onto the ship, they paused for a while on the deck and looked around. "Hm, nobody's back yet," Mathias commented.

"That's strange – we even went the farthest," said Gilbert.

"Oh well," muttered Mathias. "Where should I put him?"

"Best put him in the Captain's quarters. I'll let the Captain know," replied Gilbert, reaching into his pocket and handing a key to Mathias. It looked like the Captain trusted Gilbert with his belongings if he was letting Gilbert keep a copy of the key to his room. As Mathias started to head away, Gilbert stopped him. "Wait, here's some rope," Gilbert told Mathias, handing him a length of rope. "Tie his legs together as well – we can't have him running around the ship and escaping."

Mathias chuckled. "Good idea."

Mathias made his way up a short flight of stairs, and walked a short distance before reaching the Captain's residence. With the key Gilbert gave him, Mathias unlocked the door and headed in. He threw Yao onto the Captain's large bed.

Yao landed on the bed with a soft gasp. He didn't have much time to look around, for Mathias immediately pounced onto him, yanked his shoes off his feet and tied his feet together.

Mathias then stood up and clapped his hands together, once. "Well, my work here is done," he announced. "Just wait patiently, I'm sure the Captain will be back soon," Mathias told a wide-eyed Yao with a wink. "Toodles!"

Then Yao was left alone. He even heard the click of the door lock, indicating that Mathias had re-locked the door.

Yao looked around desperately. He needed to find a way to escape – he needed to get back home. Who knew what Yao's family must be thinking when they found the abandoned clothes by the riverside? Did they assume that Yao had run away? Or did they think that he had somehow fallen into the river and had drowned? Yao tried to move his body, but Mathias did such a good job of tying his feet together that movement was impossible.

Yao groaned in frustration as tears gathered in the corner of his eyes. He shouldn't have been by the riverside washing clothes. He should have done it this morning. He should have abandoned the task of helping his sister in favour of washing the clothes – besides, she had other brothers to help her out. Now, because he was at the wrong place at the wrong time, Yao had been kidnapped by what looked like pirates.

Yao briefly wondered if he begged hard enough, the Captain would release him and allow him to go home. He shook his head sadly – it was highly unlikely. From the stories Yao heard of pirates raiding the ships from his country, pirate Captains were merciless and quick to anger – they punished anyone who didn't do as they were told without any hesitation. And the punishment was brutal.

Just then, Yao heard the click of the door being unlocked. The doorknob turned. Yao sat up straight. He didn't know who he expected to walk through that door.

A tall blonde man stepped into the room. He was wearing a typical pirate's attire. His clothes were a bit more regal than a normal pirate's, but seeing as he was the Captain, Yao supposed it wasn't too surprising. He had very thick eyebrows that immediately shot up when he caught sight of Yao on his bed.

By then, Yao was trembling. There was something about the Captain's presence that inspired fear.

"Hm," the Captain muttered, looking at Yao's face. "Gilbert was right – you are very pretty." The Captain reached out to stroke Yao's cheek.

Yao flinched away, not daring to look at the Captain in the eye. Yao's eyes widened as he felt the Captain untying the ropes around his legs. He let out a soft gasp when the Captain encircled his arms around him to reach to untie the ropes holding his hands together behind his back. Finally, the Captain pulled out the cloth, which was now wet with Yao's saliva, from his mouth.

"What's your name?" inquired the Captain.

Yao looked at the Captain's chest. He still didn't dare to look at the Captain's face. "M-my name is Y-Yao, aru," he stuttered. "Yao W-Wang."

The Captain nodded. "That's a nice name," he commented. He sat on the side of the bed, and kicked off his boots, stretching his legs in the process. "I'm Arthur Kirkland," he said confidently. "And welcome abroad the Nirvana." He pulled off the gloves that were covering his hands and dropped them on the ground.

Yao blinked. Why was the Captain talking to him like he was talking to a friend? This man was peculiar. "Nice to meet you," Yao mumbled.

"Pleasure's all mine," Arthur replied with a charming smile.

Yao finally braved himself to look into the Captain's eyes. "Captain," he began.

Arthur held out a hand. "Call me Arthur. I can't have my concubine calling me 'Captain' all the time."

Yao huffed resentfully. "What do you mean by 'concubine'?! I am not a woman, aru!" he exclaimed. Yao flinched – it seemed that he was more insulted at being referred to as a woman than he was upset that he had been kidnapped.

Arthur smirked as he leaned forward closer to Yao. Yao noticed he had earrings in both his ears. "I know that," Arthur replied simply.

Yao sighed, and tried again. "Arthur," he begged. "Please let me go, aru… I have to get home and…"

But Arthur didn't let Yao finish. "I'm afraid I can't do that, Yao."

Yao head shot up to look at Arthur. "Why not?!" he demanded.

"I have fallen for you the first time I laid my eyes on you," Arthur explained. "And I am going to claim what's mine tonight." He pushed Yao onto the bed so that Yao was now lying down with Arthur hovering over him.

"What's yours…?" Realisation dawned upon Yao as to what Arthur was about to do. "No! Let me…"

Yao was interrupted when Arthur clamped his lips onto Yao's, kissing him fiercely, hard and bruising. His eyes widened, and he gathered all his strength to get the upper hand of this situation. Yao flipped Arthur over so that Arthur was lying on the bed and he was perched on top of him. He yanked his lips away from Arthur's.

Arthur's expression darkened. He applied more force and threw Yao back to his original position. "Resistance is futile, you know?" he said to Yao, and continued kissing him. "I'm still going to claim you as mine. Besides," Arthur grinned sadistically. "I like a challenge."

Yao tried to protest in between kisses by twisting his body around to escape Arthur's embrace, but his protests were lost on him when Arthur reached into Yao's pants and grabbed his crotch. Yao gasped at the feeling of another person touching his intimate area. No one had done that before.

"You like that, don't you?" murmured Arthur as he continued kissing Yao.

"I… ah!" Yao gave a soft cry as Arthur squeezed his cock. His hips bucked up involuntarily.

"Excellent," said Arthur as he pulled Yao's traditional Chinese top over his head, despite Yao's feeble protests. His lips resumed attacking Yao's lips once the top had been discarded onto the floor. Arthur's hands roamed free on Yao's chest, and found Yao's nipples. He grabbed one of them between his index finger and thumb, and began rolling them about with his fingers. When it was perky and very pink, Arthur shifted his attention to the other nipple, repeating the same motions with his index finger and thumb.

With his other hand, Arthur took Yao's hands and brought them above his head. Then, swiftly, he undid the cravat around his neck and tied Yao's hands to the headboard of the bed with his cravat. "What are you doing, aru?!" exclaimed Yao. "No-!"

Yao was silenced as Arthur pressed his lips against Yao's.

By then, Yao was breathing heavily. Arthur's tongue slipped into Yao's open mouth, exploring the sweet cavern. Arthur sighed in pleasure.

After a few moments, Arthur finally disengaged from Yao's mouth and moved his attention elsewhere. He began kissing and nipping at Yao's exposed neck, leaving love-bites all over, thus claiming Yao as his own.

Yao gasped as Arthur bit down particularly hard on an area of his neck. Everything was a blur to him now. The sensations Arthur was eliciting within him were too much to handle, and Yao was lost in them. Nevertheless, he was aware of how very hot he was getting.

Arthur grinded his hips against Yao's.

Yao couldn't believe it when his mouth betrayed him by letting out a long, drawn-out moan. He could feel Arthur smile against his skin as the captain planted kisses on his chest.

Yao let out a choked keening sound when Arthur reached down to lick his penis tentatively. Since when had Arthur managed to take off his pants? Satisfied by Yao's reaction, Arthur opened his mouth wide and his mouth enveloped itself around Yao's length. Yao gasped at the warmth of Arthur's mouth around his cock.

When Arthur released Yao's penis from his mouth with a soft 'pop', he smirked when he saw that the Asian's cock was semi-erect. So he had managed to arouse the smaller man.

Yao cried out as he felt a digit insert itself into his asshole. He squirmed about in discomfort, but soon decided that it didn't matter – all he wanted now was more of what Arthur was doing. It felt so good…

Yao's legs were lifted and put to rest on Arthur's shoulder as Arthur stretched him out with his finger. Meanwhile, Arthur kissed Yao again, with his other hand stroking Yao's cock, bringing it even more erect. Soon, it was dripping with pre-cum.

Soon, Arthur increased the number of fingers he was using to stretch Yao. His fingers were making a scissoring motion within Yao as the Asian man shifted his body uncomfortably.

"Shhh, it's going to be okay," Arthur said comfortingly into Yao's ear. "I just need to stretch you, if not it'll hurt when I put it in."

Hazily, Yao managed to catch a bit of what Arthur was saying to him. _Put what in where?_ He was a virgin – it was his first time having any sexual encounter and he didn't really know how sex worked. Well, Yao did know how it worked between a man and a woman, but between two men?

Finally, Arthur added another finger into Yao's entrance. At that point, Yao moaned again and his hips thrust forward.

"Eager, aren't we?" chided Arthur. He bent down and dipped his tongue into Yao's belly button, causing the Asian man to shudder delightfully.

After a few moments of Arthur stretching Yao out with three fingers, he finally withdrew his fingers from Yao's asshole. Arthur could feel his erection tightly confined within his pants, and he couldn't wait to insert it into that tight hole. Arthur could feel himself mentally salivating as he thought of Yao's heat engulfing his length.

Yao made a dissatisfied whine at the absence of the digits in his anus. He tiredly lifted his head – he wanted to see where Arthur had gone. Yao could feel his legs, which had been resting on Arthur's shoulder, dip to the side.

Arthur had leant to the side to fumble on his bedside table. He took a clear blue tube that was lying in the corner closest to the bed. In a swift motion, Arthur uncapped the tube and squeezed a generous amount of the tube's contents onto Yao's entrance.

Yao yelped as the cool liquid came into contact with his asshole.

Arthur undid his belt buckle and unzipped his pants. He took out his erection and coated it with the lube. "I'm going in," he told Yao.

Yao could only nod. Everything was fuzzy to him – he couldn't understand what Arthur was saying, but Arthur sounded gentle, so he knew Arthur wouldn't hurt him voluntarily.

Arthur pushed his cock into Yao's entrance. Yao cried out as pain consumed him. Arthur was much larger than the fingers used to stretch him, and Yao could feel tears falling from his eyes.

"It's okay," Arthur leaned forward and kissed Yao's tears away. "Give it a while – you'll get used to it."

Sure enough, after Arthur's penis had entered Yao a considerable length, the pain slowly turned into pleasure. Arthur slammed into the small Asian man. He thrust in and out, eventually setting a rhythm as Yao groaned blissfully.

Finally, after some manoeuvring, Arthur managed to find Yao's prostate. He plunged his penis into Yao, and struck his prostate. Yao's eyes slipped shut, and he whimpered as the delightful sensation engulfed his body. "A… thur…" he gasped.

Grinning in satisfaction, Arthur reached forward and pumped Yao's penis up and down with his hand. After a few strokes, finally, Yao reached completion, ejaculating onto his own stomach. Arthur followed soon after, spilling his seed into Yao.

Arthur remained within Yao for a moment as he examined the exhausted Asian man. Arthur looked at Yao's face while Yao recovered. Yao's eyes soon dropped; then, he was out like a light.

Arthur shook his head, but he was smiling tenderly at the unconscious man. He pulled out of Yao, and pulled his pants up. He zipped his pants, but discarded his belt into a corner of his quarters – he didn't need it during the night.

After that, Arthur grabbed a spare cloth from his bedside drawer and cleaned Yao's abdomen.

Arthur then covered Yao with a blanket. He planted a kiss on Yao's forehead, whispering, "Sweet dreams." He didn't untie the smaller man, though.

Then Arthur left his room to supervise the navigation of the ship.


	2. Chapter 2

When Yao woke the next morning, he found that he was alone in the room. Arthur was nowhere to be seen. There was a blanket covering his body, and when Yao lifted the blanket, he was dismayed to find that he was indeed naked. So the previous night wasn't a dream. It did happen. Yao had lost his virginity to that bastard of a pirate. He wiggled his hips, and realised that his butt hurt. He could even feel the powdery residue of some sort of dried up liquid in his ass.

Glumly, Yao got out of bed to look for his clothes on the floor. However, he heard a clinking sound coming from his leg. Yao glanced at his leg, and to his horror, found a cuff around his leg, chaining him to the foot of the large bed.

Nonetheless, Yao observed that the chain was rather long, and could probably reach the bathroom for him to do his business.

Since the chain prevented Yao from wearing any pants, and since the Chinese top he had been wearing did little to conceal his nether regions, Yao decided to dig into Arthur's wardrobe. Maybe the Captain had something Yao could wear.

Upon opening Arthur's wardrobe, Yao managed to find a button-down shirt that almost reached his knees. Arthur was much larger in size than Yao was, so a shirt that would fit Arthur would be a little too big for Yao. But Yao was not complaining – at least the shirt covered his more intimate regions.

Then, Yao tested the length of the chain. He made his way into the bathroom, and found that he was right – the chain reached the bathroom in order for him to do his business. He could even take a shower if he wanted.

Speaking of a shower, it was something Yao really craved for right now. After last night's… activities, he felt rather filthy. The feeling of Arthur's dried cum in his asshole was not comfortable at all. Yao shuddered in mild disgust.

So Yao made his way into the bathroom and took a shower. He cleaned every orifice and scrubbed his skin until it was raw. But Yao felt no cleaner than before he entered the shower. He couldn't stop his mind from replaying the events from the previous night – how good the Captain was in bed, how fantastic he made Yao feel… but Yao still felt dirty.

When Yao was fully dressed (well, as fully dressed as he could be), he sat on Arthur's bed, wondering what he could do for the rest of the day. Any plans for escape would probably lead to failure, unless he wanted to plunge to his death at the bottom of the ocean – Yao could feel the ship already sailing, and by the sounds coming from outside, they were most likely far away from any land. Besides, he had to figure out to dislodge himself from the bed, and the chain was making it rather difficult.

Then, there was a knock on the door.

Yao glanced up immediately. He was a prisoner! Why would anyone be so polite as to knock the door before entering? Yao cleared his throat. "Come in!" he called.

A stoic-looking blonde young man opened the door. He was carrying a tray with what looked like Yao's breakfast. "The Captain's ordered your breakfast to be brought to you," he announced.

"Oh," Yao perked up. Come to think of it, he was quite hungry – he hadn't had dinner the previous night; he thought he would eat after he did the laundry. But of course, he never finished washing the clothes… "Thanks, aru." Yao stood up and walked over to the other man to take the tray from him.

As the man turned around to leave, Yao noticed a label attached to his jacket. "Hey…" Yao called out. "Wait a minute."

The blonde-haired man turned around. "Yes?"

Yao smiled at the man. "Are you and Mathias… like, an item, aru?"

The young man immediately blushed. "How do you know?!" he shrieked. Yao could tell that he was not used to showing such panicked expressions.

Yao hid a grin behind his palm. "It says so on the label right there – 'Property of Mathias Køhler'." He pointed at the label attached to the man's jacket.

"What?!" exclaimed the man. "Where is it?! I am going to kill him!"

Yao was still smiling. It looked like the man who had kidnapped him the previous night was sort of a prankster. "Come, I'll help you take it off, aru."

Grudgingly, the blonde-haired man moved closer to Yao so that Yao could take the label off him. When Yao had plucked the tag off him and handed it to him, he muttered, "Thanks." He then looked intently at Yao. "I'm Lukas Bondevik, by the way," he said.

"Yao Wang," Yao introduced himself. "It's nice to meet you, aru."

Lukas nodded.

"So… crewmates are allowed to be in relationships with one another?" Yao asked. He wasn't sure how a pirate community worked, but he was sure no sane captain would allow that.

Lukas shrugged. "As long as we don't shirk our duties, the Captain allows it. He says it's better that we're happy than being miserable and not performing our duties well."

"That's very open-minded of him, aru," commented Yao.

Lukas nodded. "The Captain is a pretty nice man," he informed Yao. "Strict sometimes, but fair. He treats his crew members and staff like family."

Yao frowned. That didn't sound like the man who had practically raped him the night before. "How so?"

Lukas looked thoughtful. "There was one time Mathias angered a noble of some country. We were stopping by to replenish supplies or something, and Mathias thought it would be a good idea to explore the surroundings."

Yao nodded understandingly. Apparently, Mathias liked to wander a bit farther from the ship – it was how Yao got kidnapped.

"So he came across this noble, and hurt her feelings. I don't know the details. So Mathias, that idiot, was clearly in the wrong. But the Captain went and placated the lady and even offered her a large sum of money as compensation. And when he returned, he didn't even punish Mathias!"

"Wow, that's… rather kind of him, aru," observed Yao.

Lukas looked at Yao. "That's why his crew is so loyal to him – you treat them well, and they'll treat you well in return."

"I guess," Yao shrugged. Well, it made sense. "It's been nice talking to you, aru," he told Lukas with a genuine smile.

Lukas nodded and looked at his pocket-watch. "Well, I have to replace the guy on look-out duty – it's the end of his shift, so I have to go now," he explained to Yao. "I'll catch up with you some other time?"

"Sounds great, aru," Yao replied.

As Lukas turned around and left, Yao could not help but stare longingly at his back. How he wished he were free to walk around the ship. Not that Yao wanted to walk around, but staying put in Arthur's quarters, chained to the bed was going to be so boring.

Yao headed towards the table where his breakfast was. He opened the lid covering the food and sniffed it. Well, it didn't smell too bad – he had expected worse coming from pirates who didn't know a thing about cooking. But then again, Yao supposed that Arthur, with his charm, had managed to hire a few cooks in the kitchen.

Yao sat down and began to dig into his breakfast.

* * *

That afternoon, a kind-looking maid entered Arthur's room to clean it. Yao had hastily gathered his clothes from the floor and placed them in a pile. Then he plopped himself morosely on Arthur's bed, bringing his knees to his chest and thought of the events of the previous day.

The maid raised an eyebrow when she saw the pile of clothes on the floor.

Yao immediately turned red. "I can clean that up," he explained. "It's just that…"

The maid smiled gently in return. "Let me. It's my job," she replied. She walked over to the pile that was Yao's clothes and picked them up, dumping them into a basket she brought with her. "I haven't seen you around before."

Yao sighed. "I've been here since last night, aru," he replied glumly.

"Really?" the maid's eyes widened. "They took you from a raid? That's impressive."

Yao frowned. "What's so impressive?" he enquired.

"Well, it's just that…" the maid seemed unsure of how to continue. "They usually don't leave anyone alive when they're raiding a place. You must be really special if they saw fit to keep you alive."

Yao's jaw dropped. "I… I… I…" he sputtered.

"So what are you doing in the Captain's quarters?" the maid asked friendlily. Her eyes then scanned Yao's body, and she noticed the chain around his leg and what he was dressed in. "Much less chained to the bed and wearing the Captain's shirt?" she wagged her eyebrows playfully.

"It's not what it looks like, aru!" Yao cried, blushing brightly. Oh, it was indeed what it looked like, but the maid didn't have to know that.

The maid giggled. "Oh, you're so cute," she told Yao. "You must be particularly special to the Captain if you're in his room," she observed. "But I do hope you are the one to make the Captain happy. I've never seen him happy – he has never smiled or laughed." She began sweeping the floor.

"Really?"

"Well, he smiles at his crew members when they've had a job well done, but I can tell that the smile never quite reaches his eyes," the maid told Yao.

"Oh." Yao now felt a little depressed.

The maid then moved to make the bed. Yao stepped away to give her space to do so. "He's like a son to me, you know," the maid said conversationally. "I'm not married, you see – so, I don't have any children of my own."

Yao didn't say anything to that, and let her continue.

"I knew his mother. I watched him grow up," the maid began. She had a contemplative expression on her face. "When I couldn't get a job after being fired from my last one, he offered me this job. And the pay's not too shabby for the amount of work I do here as well!" she finished with a wink.

Yao looked away. He didn't know what to think of Arthur now. Clearly, from the descriptions of his crew and staff, he was a decent man. But Yao felt that Arthur had a long way to go if he wanted to win Yao's heart especially since he basically raped Yao the night before. … But the way Arthur made him feel… Yao had a nagging feeling that he wanted to do it again. Yao's eyes widened when he realised what was on his mind, and he smacked his own cheek lightly with his hand.

The maid stepped out to retrieve her mop. She gestured for Yao to climb back onto the bed and proceeded to mop the room.

When the maid was done, she made to leave to work on the rest of the ship. "It was nice meeting you," she told Yao.

Yao smiled and nodded. He waved at her.

The maid waved back and shut the door.

Yao was left alone once again to his thoughts.

* * *

In the evening, just like how his breakfast and lunch were brought to him, Yao's dinner was brought to him. This time, however, there were two sets of the meal. Yao looked quizzically at Lukas.

"The Captain will be joining you for dinner," Lukas informed Yao. "So wait for him."

"Oh." Yao immediately turned white. He didn't know how to face Arthur.

Lukas placed the trays on the small table and went on his way.

Yao sat on the bed and waited for a few minutes for Arthur. When Arthur didn't show up, Yao made his way towards the window closest to the bed. He folded his arms and stared out at the sea. The sea was calm and there was nothing interesting to be seen, but Yao found that the scenery comforted him.

Shortly after, the door opened silently and Arthur entered, his cloak billowing behind him. Yao was so engrossed in the scenery that he failed to notice Arthur enter. It was not until Arthur had wrapped his arms around Yao's small waist that Yao was aware of Arthur's presence. Yao made a squeak of surprise.

Arthur sniffed Yao's hair. "Mmm, you smell good." His eyes then scanned Yao's back. "Is that my shirt?"

Yao quickly turned around and pulled himself away from Arthur's embrace. "I'm sorry, aru!" he cried, not daring to meet the captain's eyes. "I had nothing to wear and…"

"It's okay," Arthur smiled gently at Yao.

Yao looked closely and quickly into Arthur's eyes. He didn't dare stare into the captain's eyes for too long. Yao now vaguely understood what the maid said when she said that Arthur's smile never quite reaches his eyes.

"Are you hungry?" Arthur asked Yao softly.

Yao looked down. "A bit," he admitted.

"Come, sit and eat," Arthur beckoned Yao to the small table where their food had been laid on. "Just let me get a bit more comfortable." Arthur then took of his hat and his cloak and hung them on the coat rack.

Once Arthur was seated opposite Yao at the table, he looked at Yao, who had his head bowed. Arthur could see the marks he had made the previous night on Yao's neck, making him look entirely delectable. And what more, Yao was wearing Arthur's shirt, making it very hard for Arthur to not slam Yao against the wall and kiss the daylights out of him.

But Yao seemed to be shaking. Was he frightened of Arthur? Arthur reached out and took Yao's chin, forcing Yao to look at him. "Are you afraid of me?"

"I…" Yao's eyes were wide open and he was clearly trembling. "… Yes," he finally said in a small voice.

Arthur looked a bit hurt at Yao's admittance. "Well, you don't have to be, okay? I will take care of you for as long as I live."

_Then why did you rape me last night? _Yao wanted to ask. But he decided to remain silent lest he anger the captain.

Nevertheless, Yao nodded a bit hesitantly. But his shaking had not ceased. "Okay, aru," he said softly.

Arthur smiled, partly in joy and partly in relief.


	3. Chapter 3

Kiku entered the kitchen where his two other siblings were. Mei was sorting the crop she had harvested that day to be sold the next day. Yong Soo was studying a calendar.

"Big brother hasn't returned yet," Kiku told them.

Mei and Yong Soo looked up at Kiku immediately.

"That's strange – he's been gone for three hours now," said Mei, frowning.

"I know," Kiku replied. "And it wasn't even a large load of laundry. It should only have taken him at most an hour and a half."

"Let's look for him, da-ze!" piped up Yong Soo. He was always very hyper when it came to his eldest brother. Yong Soo's goal in life was to please Yao, and when Yao was happy, he was happy too.

"I have," explained Kiku with a grim expression. "I found the laundry by the riverside, but no sign of big brother. It even looked like he was almost done with it when he disappeared. I did the last bit and brought the clothes home to hang."

"Oh no…" Mei's hand flew to her mouth. "I hope nothing bad's happened to him…"

"It gets worse," Kiku said softly.

"What?" Mei and Yong Soo felt their hearts sink to the pits of their stomachs.

"I looked around, and went as far as the beach… and I saw a lot of people lying dead on the ground. It was as if a bloody battle had gone through there."

"Do… do you think that big brother may have gotten himself involved in it?" Mei could feel herself getting very cold as the realisation of what may have happened dawned upon her.

Kiku looked thoughtful. "It is unlikely – brother is a peaceful person and doesn't like fighting. Unless…"

"Unless what?" Yong Soo asked. His voice was shaking in fear.

"Unless he was somehow dragged into it," replied Kiku. "But, the thing is that many of the bodies on the beach were mutilated beyond recognition, so I couldn't identify big brother amongst the dead. Do any of you remember what he was wearing? Maybe we can identify him based on what he was wearing."

Both Mei and Yong Soo shook their heads.

"I'll go out and look for him one more time," announced Kiku.

"We'll go with you," said Mei as she and Yong Soo stood up and made their way towards Kiku.

"Okay, but you stay with Yong Soo," ordered Kiku. "I don't want any more of my siblings disappearing on me."

* * *

The following day, some silk clothes were brought to Yao early in the morning.

Arthur had been present and was just about to leave. He nodded at the maid who brought the clothes and signalled for Yao to come over.

Yao had been in the bathroom, and was still dressed as he was the day before. He was feeling a bit embarrassed as to the state of his clothing, but his leg was still chained to the bed, so he couldn't put on much else. Even so, Yao went over to where the maid had laid out the silk garments on the bed.

"Choose a few nice ones," Arthur told Yao. "I want to see you wearing something better than what you're wearing now when I return tonight."

Yao nodded timidly. "See you tonight," he said.

Arthur waved a hand as he exited, without looking back.

"Which ones would you like, sir?" the maid asked sweetly.

Yao was taken aback at being addressed with so much respect. He looked at the maid, and observed that she was a lot younger than the maid that cleaned Arthur's room yesterday. "Er…" Yao glanced at the clothing on the bed.

"I wasn't sure what sort of clothing you'd like," blathered the maid. "I went and purchased these at our last stop yesterday – the Captain stopped just to get these, you know… but I don't know… are they anything like what you're used to wearing?" she asked anxiously.

Yao was stunned that a Western maid knew where to go to buy Chinese clothing. What more, they looked pretty authentic to him. "They're great, aru," he told her with a grateful smile. "Can I take all of them?"

"Of course, sir!" the maid said excitedly. She seemed happy that her choices suited the Asian man.

"So, I can put these on now?" Yao asked. He was eager to get out of Arthur's shirt.

"Yes," replied the maid. "Oh, wait." She quickly reached into her satchel and brought out some underwear for Yao. "I bought these yesterday as well – they're free-size, so they should fit you perfectly."

Yao turned red at the notion that a lady had to buy him some underwear. "Thanks, aru," he mumbled.

"I'm going to unlock the chain right now, so that you can put on the pants," explained the maid. "But once you're done I have to re-lock the chain," she said apologetically.

"I understand," said Yao solemnly.

The maid took out a key and inserted it into the lock of the chain, effectively unlocking it.

Once he was free, Yao stretched his body for a bit. He randomly took an underwear and a pair of clothing into the bathroom to change.

When Yao emerged from the bathroom, the maid gave a squeal of delight and clapped her hands together animatedly. "You look very nice!" she exclaimed.

Yao blushed. "Thanks," he said.

The maid then wrapped the cuff of the chain around Yao's leg once again and locked it. "I'm sorry," she apologised when she was done and had stood up.

Yao smiled softly at her. "It's not your fault, aru."

The maid grinned. "Well, your breakfast should be here soon, so I'll take my leave now."

"Thanks, once again."

"Not a problem at all," the maid smiled cheerfully. "Bye!" And with that, she closed the door, leaving Yao all alone again.

* * *

There was no luck finding Yao. Eventually, after four days of looking for Yao and waiting for him to return home, Kiku had to accept the fact that Yao could not be found. The three siblings assumed that he had perished in the bloody battle on the beach and could not identify his body.

Kiku organised a small funeral for Yao, even if there was no body to bury. The siblings just wanted to pay their last respects to their eldest brother.

Mei cried for three days after the funeral. She couldn't believe that her eldest brother was no longer with them. The reality hit her hard during the funeral, where she broke down sobbing into Yong Soo's chest.

Kiku and Yong Soo were more reserved and glum in the days preceding and succeeding the funeral. Even Yong Soo had temporarily lost his zest for existence.

But life had to go on.

* * *

Yao's days on Arthur's ship were spent in a similar fashion. Arthur did not allow him anywhere on the ship, so Yao remained in Arthur's quarters, chained to the bed. Everytime Yao wanted to bathe or change his clothes, he had to wait for someone to come and unlock the chain around his leg so that he could take off his clothes, and when he was done, they would re-lock the chain.

During the nights, when Arthur returned, they'd usually have dinner together. And then, they would spend the night having a quiet conversation and getting to know one another better. Initially, Yao said little, as he was still somewhat terrified of Arthur, and would give one-worded answers. But Arthur managed to pry more words out of Yao, and soon, he was conversing comfortably with Arthur. Or if Arthur was in a foul mood and needed to unwind (which was quite often), he would fuck Yao to the bed, using Yao to release his tension. At first, Yao struggled against Arthur, denying Arthur pleasure from the act, but Arthur was very forceful, and Yao eventually always found himself submitting (although somewhat unwillingly) to Arthur. But by the end of Yao's first month on the ship, he was more or less used to it, and began lying pliant while Arthur did as he wanted with Yao. Besides, Arthur genuinely knew how to pleasure Yao, and in turn, Yao was slowly but nervously learning to pleasure Arthur as well.

It wasn't entirely how Yao wanted to live, but he supposed things could be a lot worse.

After two months, however, Arthur released Yao from his imprisonment in his room.

Yao stared at the chain in Arthur's hand. "Really?" he inquired. "You're letting me go out, aru?"

Arthur nodded. "I have seen how bored you get and I guess it was kinda cruel of me to keep you in here," he admitted sheepishly. "I just didn't want you running away from me. You are much too precious to me," he told Yao.

Yao chuckled. "I wouldn't have anywhere to go anyway, aru," he said cynically. "But…"

Arthur looked expectantly at Yao, waiting for him to continue.

Yao looked embarrassed and averted his eyes from Arthur's. "I… I may not have feelings for you like you do for me yet," he began. "But… but you seem like a nice person, despite you constantly forcing me into bed with you, so I wouldn't run away, aru."

Arthur was shocked to hear those words coming out from Yao's mouth. He turned pink when Yao said that Arthur constantly forced him into bed. That was true. Nonetheless, a smile ghosted across his lips. "It brings me joy to hear you say that."

* * *

Yao now spent his days on Arthur's ship helping the pirates with their chores. He couldn't do maintenance work on the ship, and Arthur strictly forbade him from doing heavy work. So, Yao was left with the option to do the menial tasks. Sometimes, he even helped out the maids with their work, giving them some free time.

All in all, Yao was glad he could be useful. Since he couldn't go home, he might as well spend his time doing something worthwhile.

Yao was currently scrubbing the deck. The maids had given him all the materials he needed, although a bit apprehensively – they were somewhat reluctant to let Yao scrub the deck, mainly because it was their job, after all. But Yao had insisted, leaving them no choice.

A pirate named Feliks had wandered onto the deck. He had a weird habit of crossdressing, so he was wearing a skirt over the shorts he often wore as his pirate garb. When Feliks spotted Yao cleaning the deck, he asked, "Like, what are you doing?"

Yao looked up and at Feliks. "Scrubbing the deck, aru," he replied.

"Why?"

Yao shrugged. "I had nothing to do."

Feliks laughed and waved a hand rather girlishly. "You are like, too hardworking!" he exclaimed. "If it were me, I'd be like, lazing around and commanding the maids to do my every whim!"

"Well, I like to have something to do, aru."

Feliks patted Yao on the back. "You're like, a strange man, Yao. Pleasant, but strange."

Yao took that as a compliment.


	4. Chapter 4

Yao was getting used to life on a pirate's ship. He was getting to know the crew better – he hung out with them as they partook in merriment on the ship. He was even getting used to the coarse language they usually used around each other.

To Yao's horror, Arthur's pirates were rubbing off on him. He found himself saying "Ahoy!" in greeting to some of the crew. Sometimes, he even said "Aye!" when he agreed with some of the pirates.

Yao honestly didn't condone the act of piracy, but it's not like he could stop Arthur and his crew from being pirates. It was a way of life for them.

Many, many moons later…

Late one afternoon, while Yao was lounging in bed, reading a book he had borrowed from Lukas, a maid came into Arthur's room, carrying a Western dress carefully. Yao noticed that it was the same maid who had bought him his clothes – he hadn't seen her since the day she gave him the clothes, and he was pleased to see her again. Yao almost greeted her with a cheerful "Ahoy!" but bit his tongue as the word was escaping his lips. He really didn't want to sound like one of Arthur's men. "Hello," Yao greeted her instead, moving to a sitting position.

"Good evening, sir," she said, bowing her head. She then unfolded the dress she was carrying and held it in front of her. "The Captain wants you to wear this while attending a function with him tonight."

Yao almost spat out the tea he was drinking. "What, aru?!"

"The Captain wants you to wear this while…"

"I heard you!" Yao shouted. "But… but why this? Why a dress, aru?!"

The maid shifted uncomfortably. "Well, we are docking for a while, and the Duke of Salzburg has invited the Captain to attend a fancy dinner tonight. The Duke plays a bit dirty – he's involved in corruption and all that, that's why he associates with pirates. But the Captain doesn't judge," she lowered her voice as she explained. "All guests are required to bring partners, and the Captain refuses to go if it's not with you," she explained. "And since the Duke of Salzburg is homophobic, the Captain thought it more appropriate if you appeared in a dress."

"But…" Yao looked at the dress – it made him feel distressed. It was a nice shade of blue, he had to admit, but it was so… poofy!

The maid failed to notice Yao's discomfort at the news. "I understand that this dress doesn't have any shoulder straps to hold it up, and usually a woman's breasts will suffice in holding it up," she continued rambling. "I will help you fake a pair of breasts."

Yao blinked. _What?_ He was supposed to have breasts in order to wear the dress?

The maid then placed the dress on the study table in Arthur's room. "Okay, chop chop!" she suddenly cried, clapping her hands together twice. "We haven't got much time – we have to transform you into a respectable woman!"

Yao scowled. Couldn't the Captain have chosen one of the younger-looking maids to accompany him to the function? Why did it have to be Yao? Besides, if one of the maids went, it would have saved them the trouble of disguising Yao as a woman. "Uh…" Yao stood up for a while, a bit unsure of himself. "Where do you want to start, aru?"

"Take off your clothes," the maid ordered.

Yao turned pink. No girl had ever seen him naked. Well, no girl had even seen him with only his underwear on. Nevertheless, he took off his top and pants.

As Yao was stripping, another maid entered the room. She passed the first maid a couple of complicating-looking contraptions. The first maid thanked her, placing the contraptions on the study table, and she left.

"This is a corset," explained the maid, taking one of the contraptions. It looked like it was to be worn around the chest. "It's going to fake your breasts," she told Yao.

Yao peered at the corset.

"Arms up!" ordered the maid.

Yao lifted his arms as the maid wrapped the corset around his chest and the bottom part of his torso. She then fastened the strings to hold the corset in place at the front of Yao's body.

Yao winced when the maid pulled on the strings a little too hard. Something was very wrong – he couldn't breathe!

When the maid was done, she looked at Yao. "How is it so far?"

Yao was turning pale. "Can't… can't… breathe…!" he gasped.

"Oh!" exclaimed the maid. "I'm so sorry! Let me adjust the strings!"

When she had adjusted the attachments on the corset, Yao breathed a sigh of relief. He looked at himself in the mirror. He scowled – he looked ridiculous!

The maid took the second contraption from the study table. "These," she began explaining. "Are called drawers. They are basically women's underwear, but for your purpose today, they give the skirt of your dress a bit of shape."

Yao was glad he was only supposed to wear the drawers. He had read about Western women's underwear, and they sounded horrific! The corset he was wearing felt bad enough.

Once the drawers were on Yao, the maid made a sound of approval. "Now for the dress," she finally said, taking the dress from the study table. "This is called a _Robe A La Francaise_," she explained. "As you can see, there are no shoulder straps holding the dress up, so hopefully, the corset will do the job for you."

Yao glanced at the dress in apprehension. It looked a bit too complicated. Well, too complicated for a man anyway. Where was he going to start to put on the dress?

"Step into the dress," encouraged the maid.

Yao did as he was told. He hoped he didn't tear the dress. It probably cost a lot, and would also probably cost a lot to repair if he ripped it. With the maid's guidance, Yao finally succeeded in putting on the dress.

Yao finally stole another glance at himself in the mirror. He gaped at what he saw – he looked fantastic! He could easily pass for a woman!

The maid squealed in delight. "You look so pretty!" she exclaimed.

"Are we done, aru?"

The maid looked aghast. "Of course not!" she cried. "We still have to do your hair and makeup!"

_Oh god…_ Yao sighed. Arthur had better appreciate what he was going through for him.

* * *

Later that evening, Arthur was waiting for Yao on the deck of the ship. He was wearing his usual pirate's attire (a blue jacket instead of a red one, to match Yao's dress), but without his cloak and hat. However, instead of his usual boots, he donned a special pair with some jewels attached to it for occasions such as these.

When Yao finally appeared, Arthur felt his jaw drop. He knew Yao was a beautiful man, but he also made a beautiful woman! Yao was wearing the dress Arthur had picked out for him, and his hair was done up in an elaborate bun, with a few strings of hair that were too short to be tied in a bun dangling from the sides of Yao's head. There were a couple of red roses sticking out of the bun, and was that glitter Arthur saw in Yao's hair? Even the makeup on Yao's face was very tastefully done. The maid Arthur had put in charge of dressing Yao up had indeed done a good job.

Yao walked towards Arthur and extended his hand for Arthur to take.

Arthur took Yao's hand and beamed at him. "You look stunning," he complimented.

Yao huffed. "I should be!" he exclaimed in a hushed tone. "I shaved my armpits for this, aru!"

Arthur raised an eyebrow. "Really?"

Yao lifted his right arm, revealing his hairless underarms. "See?"

"Wow," muttered Arthur, reaching out to stroke Yao's armpits. "Soft and smooth as a baby's buttocks."

Yao slammed his right arm down and wrapped both his hands around Arthur's arm. "Let's get this over and done with, aru," deadpanned Yao. "The corset is killing me."

Arthur felt some compassion for his partner. After all, it was pretty much his fault that Yao had to be forced into a corset. "I'll try to leave as early as I can, okay?"

Yao nodded, and allowed Arthur to lead him down the ship and onto dry land.

* * *

When Arthur and Yao reached the Duke's castle, they were introduced as "Captain Kirkland and Lady Wang".

Yao was the only Asian at the function, and needless to say, his exotic beauty turned heads. Arthur was bombarded with questions of where Yao was from, how he managed to acquire such a rare beauty… But Arthur remained mysteriously quiet about it. He merely grinned smugly as the other men showered an embarrassed Yao with compliments.

Then the dinner began. The host, the Duke of Salzburg who was a bespectacled man named Roderich, gave the welcoming speech. Subsequently, he invited his guests to dine.

Yao was confused as to the milieu of eating utensils laid out in front of him. Back in China, they used chopsticks, and sometimes a spoon to drink soup. Even on the Nirvana, they were simple – either a spoon and a fork, or a knife and a fork were generally used to eat their meals. All in all, Yao had no idea which utensil to use. And he was terribly afraid of embarrassing Arthur in front of so many important people.

Arthur, sensing Yao stiffen up, placed his hand on Yao's lap. "What's wrong?" he asked quietly, glancing to the right at Yao.

"I…" Yao swallowed. "There are so many utensils, aru!" he hissed. "Which one do I use?"

Arthur chuckled softly. "Work your way inwards," he replied. "Never re-use them. Once you are done, just leave them on the plate and the waiter will collect them."

"Okay," muttered Yao. "Inwards. Got it, aru."

* * *

After dinner, Arthur was required to mingle with the other men shortly. Arthur shot Yao an apologetic glance. He knew he promised Yao that he would leave as early as he could, but it was common courtesy that he stayed back to talk to the other men.

Yao nodded and smiled kindly. It was his duty to wait for Arthur as his partner to the function. He could do that.

As Arthur was talking to Duke Roderich, Yao looked around. The castle was beautiful and it looked like they were currently in the ballroom. Yao could picture couples dancing around him.

Yao's thoughts were interrupted when a large figure appeared before him. "Hello," greeted the man.

Yao looked up at the man. "Uh, hi."

"My name is Ivan," the man introduced himself. "I come from Russia – I am the Baron of Krasnoyarsk. I have come here for a political visit."

"It's nice to meet you, aru," said Yao. "I am Yao." Yao honestly didn't think to come up with a more feminine name. Then again, these people were European – what did they know about the masculinity and femininity of Chinese names?

"So I heard," Ivan replied. "Captain Kirkland is a very lucky man," he commented.

Yao glanced at Arthur. He was still deep in conversation with Duke Roderich.

"Would you like to grab a drink?"

"I… uh, okay." Yao moved to tell Arthur where he was going.

"Don't bother," Ivan said, pulling Yao away from Arthur. "Don't disturb his conversation. It seems important, da?"

Ivan was right – it did look as though Arthur and Duke Roderich were having a weighty conversation. Besides, Yao could find Arthur amidst the crowd later. Or Arthur could find him – Yao was the only Asian in the ballroom, how hard could it be to find him?

Yao followed Ivan to the bar where wine was being served. While Ivan poured them some wine, Yao's attention shifted to the beautiful chandelier in the centre of the ceiling. "It's beautiful, aru," he gushed, mostly to himself.

"It is, da?" Ivan said, handing a glass of wine to Yao. "This castle was only recently built. It is based on current Renaissance architecture," he told Yao.

"It must be very interesting in Italy right now," commented Yao as he took a sip of his wine.

"It is – the amount of works the artists and scientists come up with… it's amazing," agreed Ivan.

They went on, having small talk and drinking their wine. However, by the time Yao was almost done with his glass, he was feeling light-headed. He couldn't stand straight.

"Are you okay?" Ivan asked Yao worriedly as he held Yao with his hands to stabilise the Asian man.

"Yes," Yao managed. "I'm just… really dizzy, aru…" The world swam around him, and he collapsed to the ground, breathing heavily. Ivan's face was the last thing Yao saw before darkness overcame him.

An evil grin erupted within Ivan's face as Yao was knocked out. No doubt he had slipped something into Yao's wine. Quietly and not grabbing any attention, Ivan lifted Yao's prone body and went through a back door of the ballroom.

* * *

"I'm sorry, Yao, we should get going now," Arthur turned around after he bade goodbye to Duke Roderich, half-expecting to see Yao waiting patiently for him. "Yao?" Arthur looked around, hoping to see Yao's black head of hair among the crowd. But to no avail.

"Yao!" called Arthur, as he pushed through the crowd."Yao!" He was beginning to get desperate now. It wasn't like Yao to disappear like this.

"Excuse me, mister?" There was a small tug at the hem of Arthur's jacket. It was Princess Maria Carolina. "Are you looking for the beautiful lady in the blue dress with the black hair?"

"Yes!" gasped Arthur. "Do you know where she is?"

"I saw her!" the princess said excitedly. "She was there drinking with a huge man, then he carried her back there." She pointed to the back door of the ballroom.

Arthur felt jealousy surge within him. What was Yao doing letting other men carry him like he was some kind of bride? Well, he would find Yao and find out the truth. He was sure Yao was not a willing party of this situation. Arthur stormed through the back door.

Unfortunately, it led to a hallway of doors. "Oh my god…" muttered Arthur. "Why does Roderich need so many damn doors in this bloody castle?!"

Arthur opened the first door on his right. There was no one in the space.

Then Arthur opened the first door on his left. Once again, there was no one there.

Impatiently, Arthur went down the hallway, opening doors, alternating left and right, hoping he would find Yao.

When Arthur was halfway through the hallway, he slammed open a door on his left. His eyes widened at what he saw. Baron Braginski, whom Arthur had never spoken to but knew by sight, was leaning over Yao, who seemed to be unconscious. The Baron was kissing Yao's neck and his hands were roaming about Yao's chest. He looked like he was about to rip open Yao's dress.

"What the fuck do you think you are doing?!" screamed Arthur, dashing into the room.

The Baron turned around and was immediately met with Arthur's fist. The impact from Arthur's fist was so great that he flew a fair distance to the side.

"Yao!" cried Arthur. "Hey, wake up!" He slapped Yao's cheeks lightly with both his hands.

From the Baron's position on the floor, he scoffed. He now had a bloodied nose, thanks to Arthur. "It's no use – she won't wake for at least three hours."

Arthur angrily swivelled to face Ivan. "How do you know?" he demanded.

"I drugged her," was the Baron's reply.

Arthur made a frustrated sound and walked towards Ivan. He grabbed the Baron's cravat and yanked him forward so that they were face to face. "Yao is mine, you understand?!" he growled furiously, so that only the Baron could hear him. "Don't go touching what's not fucking yours." Then, Arthur threw him onto the ground.

Arthur made his way over to where Yao lay. "Come on," Arthur whispered tenderly, and picked Yao up from the ground, carrying him bridal-style. "Let's get back to the ship."

* * *

Sure enough, Yao regained consciousness slightly after midnight. He groggily came out of his stupor to see Arthur staring down worriedly at him. "Arthur?"

"Are you okay?" Arthur asked.

Yao nodded and sat up. "What happened, aru? Where am I?"

"You are on the deck of my ship. Gilbert said you should get some fresh air, to cool your head," Arthur told Yao. "What do you last remember?"

"I… uh…" Yao scratched his head, trying to remember. "I was… talking to Ivan about the Renaissance, I think. Then I felt dizzy, and everything became black, aru."

"You didn't do anything with the Baron?"

Yao frowned. "The Baron?" he questioned. Then, Yao looked sharply at Arthur. "No!" he exclaimed. "Ivan's just a brief acquaintance I met, aru! Why do you ask that?"

Arthur shrugged. He didn't want to taint Yao's impression of the Baron, if all he remembered of their contact was having a conversation about the Renaissance. "Nothing," he replied. Arthur gathered Yao into a hug. "I'm glad you're alright," he murmured into Yao's ear.

Yao frowned. Arthur was not acting like himself. He wouldn't say such things without reason! "Come on, tell me what happened, aru! Why did I pass out?"

Arthur sighed. "Ivan drugged you," he told Yao. "Then he took you to a secluded area of Duke Roderich's castle to…" he coughed awkwardly. "… Have his way with you."

Yao gaped at Arthur. He remained silent, waiting for Arthur to continue. Yao braced himself for the worst.

"But he didn't manage to!" Arthur quickly said, seeing the dreadful expression on Yao's face. "After I talked to Duke Roderich, I noticed you were gone, so I went looking for you. Princess Maria Carolina told me she saw you and Ivan having a drink by the bar, and then he carried you away," Arthur explained. "So I went looking for you, and I found him about to remove your dress… so I punched him," Arthur finished a bit guiltily.

"Oh," Yao finally said in a small voice. He buried his face in his hands. "I shouldn't have trusted him so easily, aru!" he wailed. "I should have known he had an ulterior motive!"

Arthur wrapped his arms around Yao's small body. "You couldn't have known," he said soothingly, stroking Yao's back.

"I shouldn't have been so trusting!" cried Yao into Arthur's shoulder.

"It's okay," murmured Arthur. "What matters is that you're alright and you're safe now."

Yao pulled his face away from Arthur's body and looked at him. Then he leaned his face closer to Arthur's, gazing intently into Arthur's emerald green orbs. Yao took a deep breath and pressed his lips against Arthur's lightly. When he disengaged from Arthur, Yao smiled rather shyly. "I love you," he said.

Arthur was frozen in his spot. He blinked. Finally, he managed to find his voice. "Are… are you sure?" Arthur croaked.

Yao smiled. "More sure than I've ever been about anything in my life, aru," he told Arthur.

"After I took you against your will, imprisoned you…"

Yao didn't let Arthur finish. "In spite of that," he confirmed. "I may have despised you initially for raping me," Yao explained, smiling bitterly at Arthur. "But your crew and staff had nothing but good things to say about you, aru. You must be a good man deep inside. Maybe a bit high in libido, but you were probably a good man. So I gave you a second chance," he continued. "And as I got to know you better, I couldn't help falling for you, aru."

Arthur grinned lopsidedly. He pounced onto Yao, kissing him on the lips.

When they broke apart, Yao reached out and stroked Arthur's blonde locks gently.

Arthur took Yao's other hand and brought it too his cheek. Then, he turned his face towards the palm of Yao's hand and buried his face into it.

Yao looked down at himself. He was still in the blue dress. "Can I take this dress off now?" he asked Arthur bashfully.

"No," came Arthur's immediate reply.

"Why not, aru?" whined Yao. "The corset is digging into my ribs!" he complained.

"I want to take it off you," Arthur said seductively. He reached out to undo the bun in Yao's hair, throwing the roses into the sea. As Yao's hair was released from the bun, bits of glitter fell to the ground.

"You pervert," grumbled Yao.

Arthur laughed heartily. "I'm sorry, but seeing you in that dress has got me all hot and bothered!"

Yao rolled his eyes.

Arthur gathered Yao into his arms, bridal-style and headed to his accommodation on the ship.

A/N – If you want to know what a _Robe A La Francaise__ looks like, just look at the dress Belle (from Beauty and the Beast) was wearing. I love the design! :)_


	5. Chapter 5

There was a storm outside. Yao lay in Arthur's bed, gripping the blanket. He couldn't sleep – not with the thunder resounding outside. He had been afraid of thunder ever since he was little. Besides, Arthur was still on the starboard, where it was pouring, piloting the ship into safety. Without Arthur's expertise, the ship would probably sink.

Another crack of thunder could be heard. Yao buried his head into the blanket and whimpered. In all honesty, he would prefer to be out in the pouring rain, as long as he had someone, just anyone, to comfort him. But Arthur vehemently disallowed Yao from going onto the starboard.

After what seemed like hours, the storm finally subsided. Yao stole a peek out of the blanket into the darkness of the room.

Shortly after, Arthur stumbled in. He was drenched.

Yao immediately got out of bed. He grabbed a towel and wrapped Arthur with it.

"Not asleep yet?" Arthur asked tiredly.

Yao shook his head. "Couldn't," he replied. "I've always been terrified of storms, aru," Yao admitted.

Arthur clicked his tongue. "Oh, my poor dear," he cooed, wrapping an arm around Yao's shoulder and kissing Yao's forehead softly.

"You should get out of those clothes before you get sick," said Yao.

"Okay, okay," replied Arthur. "Grab me some clothes, will you?"

Yao nodded and made his way to Arthur's wardrobe to retrieve a pair of simple clothes that Arthur could sleep in. Back in China, all men and women slept in pyjamas. But apparently, pyjamas were too much of a hassle for pirates, so they preferred not to use them.

Arthur peeled off his wet clothing and changed into the clothes Yao handed him. Once he was fully dressed, Arthur wrapped his hands around an unsuspecting Yao's waist, causing the Asian man to yelp in surprise. Gleefully, Arthur lifted Yao and carried him to the bed.

Once they were in bed, Arthur turned to his side of the bed and switched off the nightlights. "Go to sleep," he told Yao softly, gathering him in his arms. "You must be very tired from staying awake."

Yao smiled contentedly. Now that the storm had stopped and Arthur was back with him, he could finally sleep in peace. Yao began drifting off to sleep.

* * *

The next morning, Yao awoke to the sounds of hacking and sneezing coming from Arthur's side of the bed. He opened a bleary eye and turned to ask Arthur if he was alright.

The sight of Arthur sitting up and coughing immediately got Yao up. Arthur's eyes and nose were red, and he looked like he was going to pass out any second.

"Arthur!" Yao exclaimed, as he immediately got out of bed. "You look terrible, aru!"

Arthur smiled grimly. "Must have been from the storm last night."

Yao touched Arthur's forehead. It was quite hot to the touch. "You have a slight fever," Yao informed Arthur.

Arthur sniffed. "Yeah, I felt like it…"

"Is there any medication on this ship, aru?"

Arthur looked incensed at the thought of a pirate needing medication. "Pirates don't get sick! We don't need medication!" he exclaimed.

Yao rolled his eyes. "Are we near any land then, so that I may get some medication for you?"

Arthur put his hand over Yao's. "It's all right," he told Yao. "I just have to rest it off – I'll be okay soon enough."

Yao looked unsure. Then, he got an idea. "I will cook you some porridge, aru!" Yao exclaimed. "I used to eat porridge all the time when I was sick."

Arthur frowned. "Porridge?"

Oh, Yao forgot that Westerners referred to the Easterner's version of porridge by a different name. "Congee, I mean," Yao explained.

Arthur brightened up considerably. "I've never had congee before," he said, mostly to himself.

"Then I'll make you some!" said Yao cheerfully. "You'll enjoy it – it's traditional Chinese congee, aru!"

Arthur chuckled and laid back on the headboard of his bed, sniffing pitifully. "Okay, I'll trust your word on it."

Yao stood up and brushed his shirt down. "Let me wash up and I'll get right on it, aru."

When Yao got to the kitchen, the cooks already had breakfast prepared. In fact, breakfast was being served in the mess hall to the other pirates. Gilbert was in the kitchen, picking the better pieces of smoked salmon available for his sandwich, when Yao walked in. "Ah!" Gilbert yelled as he caught sight of Yao. "Isn't it the lovely Yao? What brings you here today?"

Yao blushed at Gilbert's compliment. He still wasn't used to Arthur's crew members teasing him now that Arthur and him were officially a couple. "Arthur's sick," Yao replied.

Gilbert's eyes widened considerably. "The Captain is sick?!" he cried. And then, Gilbert practically ran out of the kitchen (probably to check if Arthur was alright) even before Yao could stop him. Yao noticed a small, yellow bird flying off after Gilbert, following in his trail.

"Oh, is the Captain alright?" asked one of the female cooks. "He was looking very well yesterday!"

Yao turned around and smiled at the cook. "Yes, he's alright, aru. He was just in the storm last night, and developed a fever this morning."

"Oh, how awful!" lamented another cook.

Yao was still astounded at how Arthur's staffs were so fond of him. "Well, I'm going to make him some congee, aru… Is there any meat around here?"

The first cook looked thoughtful. "We've run out of chicken, beef and pork and won't be getting any till our next stop," she told Yao. "But there's plenty of fish! Which would you like?"

Fish? Excellent – Yao could make Arthur fish porridge! It was healthier anyway. "Er, can I have a look at them, aru?"

"Sure!" One of the cooks opened the freezer and yanked the bags of fish they had out. Yao could see that the first cook was right – there was indeed plenty of fish. Yao took the bags one by one, studying the fish in them. Finally, he settled for a tilapia. Yao thanked the cooks and began cooking.

Yao knew where most of the ingredients for cooking were in the kitchen, being there a few times. So Yao could cook without needing any help from the cooks.

After about three hours, the porridge was ready. Yao sniffed it, and found that it smelt good. He scooped some into a bowl and brought it to Arthur.

When Yao entered Arthur's quarters, Arthur's side of the bed was littered with tissue papers. He had been sneezing and blowing his nose. Arthur's head was resting on the headboard of the bed, and he had his eyes closed, but as soon as Yao entered, he opened his eyes and smiled warmly at Yao.

"Was Gilbert here, aru?" Yao asked. He had just remembered that Gilbert had left the kitchen when Yao told him that Arthur was sick and never returned.

Arthur sniggered. "Indeed. He fawned over me for a bit, but said that I needn't worry about the ship – he would take care of everything."

"That's nice," commented Yao. "So you can rest well and recover quickly, aru!"

"That's the idea." Arthur grinned.

Yao pulled a chair towards Arthur's bedside. "Well, I made some congee for you, like I promised," he told Arthur, showing Arthur the bowl he was holding.

Arthur snuffled. "I'm sure it's as nice as everything you cook," he said.

"Here, try some, aru." Yao took a spoonful of congee, blew on it to cool it down, and held it out at Arthur's mouth.

Arthur opened his mouth and took in a spoonful of the congee. He swallowed it, looking contemplative.

"How is it?" asked Yao hopefully.

Arthur smiled brightly at Yao. "I like it," he told Yao.

Yao beamed. He then took another spoonful of congee, blew on it, and held it to Arthur's mouth. "I'm glad, aru."

* * *

True to Arthur's word, after a day of rest, the following day, he was as good as new. He was up early, commanding the maids to bring him a fresh change of bedsheets. Arthur had the notion that since he was sick in the old bedsheets, they were now germy and needed to be washed.

Yao was just entering Arthur's room after his walk on the deck when he saw a maid hastily exiting the room with Arthur's old bedsheets in her hand.

When Yao stepped into Arthur's room, he found Arthur lying on the bed on his stomach, sniffing the clean sheets. "What are you doing, aru?"

"Come and smell this!" Arthur said excitedly. "I love the smell of fresh new bedsheets!"

Yao shook his head, but he was smiling affectionately at Arthur. "Anyway," he said. "I came to ask if you wanted to go for breakfast?"

Arthur immediately jumped out from the bed. "Yes! I'm starving!"

* * *

One day, while the Nirvana had docked to replenish their supplies, Arthur took Yao down the ship for a date. They went to a nearby town and walked through the market, observing the rare trinkets that were sold in that town.

Arthur and Yao stopped by a florist, who had many rare flowers for sale. After browsing the store, Arthur bought a stalk of primrose and a bouquet of roses. The primrose, he placed in Yao's hair. "Signifying my eternal love for you," Arthur declared, smiling at Yao.

This time, Yao looked closely at Arthur's smile. It seemed that unlike before, Arthur's smile now was genuine – it reached his eyes. Yao could tell that Arthur was truly happy.

"What are the roses for, aru?"

Arthur grinned. "To add some colour to my room," he replied.

After spending the whole day in the town, Arthur brought Yao up to a cliff. Once they were up the cliff, Arthur put the roses down and tackled Yao to the ground, tickling him mercilessly.

"Stop, stop!" cried Yao through his laughter, as he squirmed within Arthur's tickling and Arthur nibbling on his neck.

When Arthur finally stopped tickling Yao, Yao was breathing heavily. But his eyes were sparkling with mirth as he stared up at Arthur.

Arthur lowered his head and kissed Yao on the lips. "I brought you here for a reason, you know," he told Yao.

"Hm?"

"My father brought me here when I was very young," said Arthur. "We watched the sunset together. It was magnificent. I told myself I would bring the person I loved here to see the beautiful sunset with me."

Yao looked at Arthur in wonderment. He tried to imagine little Arthur watching the sunset and vowing to himself that he would bring his true love to see the sunset. Yao snorted at the thought.

"What?" Arthur looked indignant. "What's so funny?"

"Nothing, aru," Yao replied, smiling. He reached out to brush a lock of Arthur's hair that had fallen in front of his face back. "I was just imagining you as a kid coming to watch the sunset and promising yourself that you were going to bring the person you love here. I think you must have been very cute."

Arthur turned red at Yao's comment. "I… I wouldn't know, would I?" he sputtered.

Yao giggled. "I know so, aru," he said matter-of-factly. "You are so good-looking now, you must have been a very cute child."

Arthur huffed. "Well, if you're going to judge how cute I was when I was a kid based on my looks now, I think you would have been an even cuter child," he retorted.

Yao shrugged. "I wouldn't know either," he replied with a small smirk.

Arthur turned to look at the sky, where the sun was now setting. "Hey." Arthur pulled Yao up to a sitting position. "The sun's setting."

Yao looked in the direction Arthur was looking, and found that Arthur was right – the sunset was gorgeous. They watched in silence as the orange of the sun melded with the darkness of night, creating a pink hue in between the two areas. And as the sun disappeared into the horizon and darkness surrounded them, Arthur turned towards Yao and kissed him on the cheek.

"Next time, when we're in Northern Europe, I will take you to see the northern lights," Arthur told Yao. "I haven't seen them myself, but I am told they are very beautiful. Much more beautiful than this sunset," he added.

Yao smiled and nodded.

"Come on, let's head back to the ship," Arthur took Yao's hand and picked up the bouquet of roses from the ground.

Yao entwined his fingers with Arthur's, and they made their way down the cliff and back to the ship wordlessly.


	6. Chapter 6

Yao had been observing Mathias and a few other pirates fish. They did it during their free time for fun, and enjoyed it. That was also partly why the ship had a never-ending supply of fish for food.

Mathias hoisted the net which was full of different kinds of fish, chortling to himself.

Lukas, who was passing by, peered into the net. "What sort of fish have you got there?"

"Lots of rainbow trout and tuna!" announced Mathias. "We won't go hungry for days!"

Lukas rolled his eyes. "We've never gone hungry. Not with the amount of fish you catch."

Yao sniggered at the couple's bickering. He found it entertaining (and rather cute as well), that Lukas and Mathias were so different in temperament, yet they could still make their relationship work.

Then, Arthur's voice boomed. "Hear ye!" he called. "Muster the crew! Spanish ship sighted about ten kilometres from this ship! "

"Oh damn!" Mathias swore. He turned to Yao. "Hey Yao, could you take these fish to the kitchen? They'll know what to do with them. Thanks!" And Mathias rushed off after that.

Yao wasn't sure what was going on. After Arthur's announcement, it looked like the crew was hurrying to do something. But Yao didn't know exactly what. "Yeah, sure!" he yelled to Mathias' retreating form.

Lukas was heading in the other direction. "Lukas!" Yao called and grabbed him by the shoulder. "What's going on, aru?"

Lukas hurriedly glanced back at Yao. "The Spanish fleet is led by a man called Antonio. He's basically the Captain's archenemy," he explained. "Whenever they come across one another, they'll surely attack each other. But no one really dies in these fights – we're just fighting for the sake of it. People do get injured, though. So I suggest you stay inside and protect yourself."

"Okay," Yao replied. "Good luck," he said to Lukas.

Lukas headed off, and Yao hauled the fish Mathias caught to the kitchen. Arthur had said that the ship was ten kilometres away from them, so Yao had plenty of time to transport the fish to the kitchen and then go inside and shield himself. As Yao was coming out from the kitchen, he bumped into Arthur.

"Yao!" gasped Arthur. "Thank god I found you!" he hugged Yao briefly. "Listen, I want you to stay in my room until the Spanish fleet has left," Arthur told Yao. "Lock the door, and whatever you do, don't open the door unless you hear my voice!"

"What about the maids and cooks, aru?!" Yao asked. Arthur had told Yao once before that it was believed to be bad luck to have females aboard a pirate ship, but he didn't believe in such nonsense. Arthur claimed that the presence of women on his ship had brought him excellent luck over the years. But now Yao was starting to think it may be quite troublesome to make sure they were okay in such a situation of an attack.

Arthur stroked Yao's hair comfortingly. "They know how to protect themselves," he told Yao. "This is not the first time we're facing off the Spanish fleet."

"Okay." Yao leaned forward and kissed Arthur lightly on the cheek. "Stay safe, aru."

"I will." Arthur pressed his hands onto the sides of Yao's head quickly before letting go just as abruptly. "Now, go! Hurry!"

Yao made his way through the bustling pirates rushing to get onto the deck of the ship to face the Spanish ship. He felt odd that he was the only one going in the opposite direction, but Yao didn't dare to disobey Arthur. Not when it was so important and the situation was so dire.

Yao got to Arthur's quarters, and quickly locked the door. He could hear Arthur's crew shouting orders to one another outside – "Raise the cannons!", "Hard to starboard! Keep her steady!", "Make speed!" and so on… It was basically pirate jargon that Yao didn't understand, but it sounded like Arthur's pirates were readying themselves to fight the Spanish fleet.

After a while, a loud boom could be heard. Someone had released a cannon. Whether it was Arthur's ship or the Spanish ship that had done so, Yao wasn't sure. But Yao could feel the ship shake.

Then, it was chaos outside. Loud screaming could be heard as the sounds of gunshots and swords clinking fiercely against one another filled the air.

Yao slid onto the floor and buried his head into his knees. He couldn't bear to hear those noises. Yao shut his eyes tightly and willed this battle to end quickly, and prayed that no one would be hurt.

A long moment passed, with Yao concentrating on the reverberations of pirates fighting throughout the ship, when someone tried to open Arthur's door by turning the doorknob of Arthur's door. Naturally, because Yao had locked it, the person was unsuccessful.

"Hey, this door's locked," a voice said.

Yao froze. He felt his blood turn cold. It wasn't a voice he was familiar with. That only meant that the Spaniards had managed to get onto Arthur's ship.

"Isn't this the Captain's room?" another voice asked.

"There should be a lot of valuables in there!" the first voice said gleefully.

Yao was starting to panic. The Spanish pirates were going to force open the door and find him in Arthur's room! Yao looked around, hoping to find a way out without alerting the pirates at the door. He was dismayed when he found none – the front door was the only way in and out of Arthur's quarters. Desperately, Yao crawled into the bathroom and closed the door quickly, locking it.

BAM! The Spanish pirates had forced Arthur's door open and broken it down.

Yao could hear their boots clomping on the floor as they stepped into Arthur's room. By the sounds of it, only two pirates were there. _Please don't check the bathroom, please don't check the bathroom…_ Yao crossed his fingers silently.

"There's nothing interesting in here!" the first pirate whined.

"Hm, I had thought the Captain of this ship would have more treasures…" commented the second pirate.

Now, Yao could hear the pirates walking around the room. The screaming and sounds of fighting outside had not faded, but they sounded duller now that Yao was in the bathroom.

Suddenly, the doorknob of the bathroom door started turning. But because Yao had locked it, it couldn't turn fully. "Hey," the first pirate said. "This door's locked too!"

The other pirate tried turning the doorknob as well. "Something important must be inside if it's locked as well."

_Shit!_ Yao was trembling now. They were going to force open the door and find him in the bathroom! He couldn't get out of this! Yao edged closer to the sink, burying his head into his knees and placing his hands on his head in a cowering position, as if that would protect him from the two intruders outside.

CRASH! The bathroom door was finally broken down.

The two Spanish pirates stood at the doorway, looking around. They immediately caught sight of Yao's huddled form by the sink. They looked at each other and exchanged a grin.

One of the pirates walked towards Yao and yanked him up by his hand. Yao grunted in pain at the sudden movement.

The other pirate was looking at Yao. "She is pretty," he commented. "I can see why the Captain kept her locked up here all to himself," he leered.

The pirate holding Yao smacked the other pirate. "Moron!" he yelled. "He's a man!"

"Really?" The other pirate squinted at Yao.

"Yes, really!" growled the second pirate. "Come on, tie him up and bring him back to the ship – the Captain will know what to do with him."

_No!_ Yao could not allow himself to be taken away by these pirates. He kicked out a leg, but it was instantly grabbed by the first pirate, who brandished a rope and tied his legs together. Frustrated at his failure, Yao tried trashing his arms about, but the second pirate held them down firmly behind his back while the first pirate tied them together. Then, the second pirate took out a piece of cloth and forced Yao's mouth open, forcing the cloth into Yao's mouth and tying the cloth around Yao's head, effectively gagging him.

"Let's go," the second pirate said.

The first pirate picked Yao up and carried him out of Arthur's room. Yao struggled within his grasp, but he was a lot stronger than Yao, and managed to hold Yao without dropping him in the midst of Yao's struggling.

The Spaniards finally made their way to their ship via a plank that was connecting the two ships so that the pirates from both ships could commute to and from their respective ships.

"Captain Carriedo!" called the second pirate.

The Spanish Captain, Captain Antonio Carriedo, was standing on the forecastle deck of his ship, close to the edge of the ship, observing his pirates fight with Arthur's pirates. "What have you got there?"

Yao was thrown onto Captain Antonio's feet. He landed on the ground with an "oof."

"We found him in their Captain's bathroom!" the first pirate said excitedly. "He was locked there, so he must be very valuable to their Captain!"

Captain Antonio eyebrows shot up. "Really now?" he smirked, an idea forming in his head.

By then, the ropes at Yao's feet had come lose, thanks to Yao's constant trashing to free himself. However, Captain Antonio wrenched Yao up by his collar and placed a knife at his neck with one hand. With the other, he reached into his pocket for his gun. He aimed his gun to the sky, and without warning, Captain Antonio pulled the trigger.

Almost immediately, the commotion stopped and all eyes turned to look at the source of the sound.

From his ship, Arthur caught sight of who Captain Antonio had held captive. "Yao!" he cried.

Captain Antonio pressed the blade of the knife closer to Yao's throat and managed to draw some blood. "Is he someone important to you, Kirkland?" he called out to Arthur.

"Let him go, you bastard!" yelled Arthur furiously.

Captain Antonio wrapped his free arm around Yao's waist. "Order your men to retreat," he told Arthur.

Arthur scowled at Captain Antonio. Nonetheless, he grudgingly ordered his men back to his ship. At the same time, Captain Antonio gestured for his men to come back to his ship.

However, as a pirate called Toris whispered something into Arthur's ear, his eyes lit up. Arthur told Toris something softly and he retreated to the back. Arthur started laughing, while Captain Antonio's pirates stared at him as if he were crazy. "You have my Yao?" said Arthur confidently. "Well, here's my trump card – I have your kid!"

"What kid?" Captain Antonio released his hold on Yao slightly. But he never removed his hand holding the knife at Yao's throat.

Toris returned, pulling a child with him. Arthur grabbed the child's collar and pulled him up so that Captain Antonio could have a better look at him.

Captain Antonio's eyes went wide. "Lovino?! Why the hell are you on my ship?"

The child was near tears by then. He flailed in Arthur's arms. "You bastard!" he cried. "You left me all alone again! So this time I followed you!" A tear escaped Lovino's eye and slid down his face.

Arthur grinned. "What do you say, Carriedo?" he called out. "I'll release your kid if you release my Yao."

Captain Antonio let out an irritated yell. "Fine, fine! But you have to let Lovino go first!"

Arthur looked at the child. The child looked back at him pitifully. Arthur heaved a sigh. He couldn't keep a child captive anyway; it was wrong – the child had done no wrong. He put the child down on the floor, and Lovino quickly scampered back to Antonio's ship through the plank connecting the two ships.

As soon as Lovino was safe on Captain Antonio's ship, Yao felt himself being forcefully shoved from the edge of the forecastle deck where Captain Antonio was standing into the ocean. Yao shut his eyes tightly as he plunged head-first into the ocean.

There was a collective gasp from Arthur's crew when Captain Antonio pushed Yao into the ocean. "Yao!" screamed Arthur as Yao landed in the ocean with a splash. "You son of a bitch!" This was directed at Captain Antonio.

Arthur quickly shed his jacket, threw his tri-cornered hat onto the ground and dived into the ocean after Yao. Yao was sinking quickly as his hands were tied together, causing him to be unable to swim. The cloth gag around Yao's mouth had been swept away by the water current when Yao fell into the ocean. After swimming down a depth, Arthur finally grabbed hold of Yao and caught him in his arms. Arthur then swam back to the surface with Yao in his arms.

When Arthur's head appeared at the surface of the water, there was an excited chatter within his pirates. Gilbert grabbed a long rope and threw it Arthur's way into the ocean.

With one hand, Arthur seized the rope tightly.

Working together, Arthur's crew pulled Arthur and Yao to safety onto the ship. Once Yao was on the ship, Arthur immediately undid the bonds around Yao's wrists. Arthur then flipped an unconscious Yao over, making him lie on his back. He pressed hard against Yao's chest, purging the seawater out of Yao's lungs.

By then, the Spanish ship had continued on their journey and was a fair distance from the Nirvana.

After pumping Yao's chest a few times, Yao finally coughed once, gradually regaining consciousness. Seawater escaped from the corner of his mouth.

Meanwhile, Arthur's crew cheered when they saw signs of life from Yao.

Arthur pressed Yao's chest a few more times, pausing briefly in between pushes, and finally Yao coughed all the seawater out of his body. Yao groaned and rolled to his side, hacking a few more times, making sure every single drop of seawater had been expelled from his lungs.

Arthur was panting in exertion. The adrenaline was still coursing through his veins. Nevertheless, he pulled Yao into a tight embrace once Yao had stopped coughing. "You're alright, you're alright," Arthur half-sobbed joyfully as he planted kisses all over Yao's face.

Yao smiled and let out a puff of air. He buried his face into Arthur's shoulder. He was glad to be back in Arthur's arms. Yao had thought that the Spanish pirates were going to do away with him, and he would never see Arthur and his ship ever again.

Then, something Arthur had said to Yao echoed in his head: _When you die, I'll die with you – we are one._ Did that mean if Yao had perished that day, Arthur would kill himself too? Yao felt tears prick in the corner of his eyes, and he pressed his face harder into Arthur's body.

Yao was shivering from the cold air, so Arthur seized the jacket he had thrown onto the ground and wrapped it around Yao's body.

One of Arthur's crew members had grabbed a couple of towels and handed them to Arthur.

"Thanks," said Arthur. "Okay men! Back to work! Everything's fine now!" he announced to his crew. Immediately, the pirates went on their way, back to their jobs before the Spanish fleet arrived.

Arthur draped a towel over Yao. It was then he noticed the cut on Yao's neck made by Captain Antonio's knife. He ran a finger lightly over it. "Does it hurt?" Arthur asked Yao gently.

The wound stung a bit, especially since seawater had had contact with it. "A little, aru."

"I'll put a bandage over it later," Arthur said. "Come on, let's get you into some dry clothes."

Yao suddenly remembered about Arthur's damaged doors from the Spaniards forcing their way into his room. "You probably need to fix your door, aru," he told Arthur weakly.

"Hm?"

"They broke down your door," Yao simply said.

So that was how Yao ended up getting captured. Arthur smiled and placed his arm around Yao's shoulder, leading him back to his quarters. "Oh, that's okay – I can get it fixed in no time."


	7. Chapter 7

A few nights later, the pirates from Arthur's ship were celebrating the Nirvana's sixth year on sail. It was important to them as it was a brand new ship that Arthur had purchased, and not a second-hand ship or part of an inheritance, like most ships were at that time. A lot of Arthur's pirates had been on the ship ever since the first day she set sail, and the ship was like their child. There was also a bounty on Arthur's head in a few European countries, but that was a different story – Arthur seemed to be an expert at evading capture.

So most of Arthur's crew were drinking rum and gambling around a large table. Some of them were entertaining the others by playing their musical instruments (although rather amateurishly). All in all, they were enjoying themselves and having a good time.

Arthur and Yao decided to lie on the poop-deck, just watching the stars. They had even laid out a mat where they could lie down comfortably.

Arthur seemed knowledgeable about astronomy (he said he used the stars for directions most of the time), while all the stars and constellations looked the same to Yao and was mostly a blur to him. But Yao enjoyed hearing Arthur talk about the different constellations and pointing them out in the sky, even if he hadn't the slightest clue what Arthur was talking about.

As a gust of wind swept past them, Yao shivered slightly. China was still a lot colder than that, but at least back there, Yao could stay indoors and keep warm. On the ship, heating was scarce and the cold air seemed to get everywhere.

Arthur felt Yao shiver beside him. He sat up and took off his jacket, placing it over Yao's body like a blanket. "You okay?" he asked concernedly. "You want to go indoors?"

Yao shook his head. "I'm okay," he replied. "Just a little chilly, aru."

Arthur looked contemplative. "Maybe we should go indoors."

"It's okay!" Yao exclaimed. "I'm just a bit cold, aru!"

Arthur waved a hand. "Which is why we should go indoors and warm up. Let's go to my room, I'll even get you some hot tea from the kitchen before that."

Yao broke into a smile. Well, he did like tea… "Okay, aru," he said, and allowed Arthur to pull him up.

They made their way to the empty kitchen. It was late and the cooks were off-duty, but Arthur drank enough tea to know where they kept the teabags. Come to think of it, even Yao came to the kitchen on a regular basis to look for teabags since he was so fond of tea. "What tea would you like?" Arthur asked Yao.

"Oolong would be nice," said Yao.

So Arthur took an Oolong teabag for Yao and an Earl Grey teabag for himself. He then put the teabags into two separate cups and poured some hot water into each of them.

Yao took a sip of his tea and sighed blissfully.

Arthur gestured for them to exit the kitchen and head to his quarters. Yao obeyed, and followed Arthur out.

When they got to Arthur's room, Arthur quickly ushered Yao inside. He then slammed the door shut behind him. He was breathing very awkwardly.

Yao frowned. He thought it was strange for Arthur's breathing to become so laboured – he was fine a moment ago! And besides, Arthur wasn't running or doing any exertive activity, so why was he breathing so harshly? "Arthur, what's wrong, aru? Come and have your tea before it gets cold."

Arthur shook his head. "Just put my tea on the side-table," he told Yao. His breathing had not calmed down. "I need to do this before I lose my nerve once again."

Yao did as Arthur told him. But he looked at Arthur questioningly. _Lose his nerve to do what?_

"I have been wanting to do this since this morning," said Arthur. "But I keep chickening out. And I know this is not the most romantic of situations, but…" Then, Arthur knelt down on one knee on the ground. He began digging into his jacket pocket for something. He finally pulled out a red velvet box.

Yao's eyebrows shot heavenwards. _What is he doing?_

"I know we can't officially do this, not on paper at least, but will you marry me, Yao? I promise to love you and protect you for as long as I live." As he said that, Arthur opened the box and presented a ring to Yao. "This ring is my mother's – my father gave it to her when they got married. If you are willing to marry me, I want you to have it," finished Arthur nervously. He didn't dare look at Yao's face, in fear of being rejected.

There were a few moments of silence as Yao gawked at Arthur. Arthur didn't know what Yao's expression was or what Yao was thinking, for he still had his eyes on the ground. Arthur's face was beginning to crumple and he was about to retract the ring. Who would want to marry a pirate like him? After all, all pirates did was to rob and destroy.

"Yes," Yao finally said.

Arthur quickly looked up at Yao. He didn't expect Yao to agree to marry him. Arthur was shocked to see that tears were falling from Yao's eyes. "Hey, why are you crying?" Arthur stood up and sat beside Yao on the bed, wrapping an arm around the Asian man.

Yao gave a watery laugh. "Because I'm happy, aru!" he said, rubbing the tears away with the back of his hand.

"Don't cry, okay?" Arthur took Yao's left hand. "Do you want me to put on the ring for you?"

Yao nodded eagerly.

Arthur slipped the silver ring onto Yao's left fourth finger, and kissed the palm of Yao's hand. "It's not the most expensive metal or anything… my parents weren't very rich…" Arthur muttered.

Yao held his hand out to admire the ring. "It's beautiful, aru!"

Arthur smiled to himself and took the small Asian man into a hug.

As Yao was pulled into the hug, he kissed Arthur's cheek.

When they pulled apart, Arthur took Yao's left hand and observed it. "How do you feel now, wearing that ring?"

"Happy," Yao replied. "I knew you've always loved me, but this sort of solidifies it, aru."

Arthur grinned, and planted a kiss on Yao's lips.


	8. Chapter 8

The ship had docked in an area somewhere in China for the staff to replenish their supplies. Yao didn't ask exactly where they were, so he didn't know if he was near his home or not. But he didn't want to know – if he knew, he might want to go home (depending on where they were), and if he went home, he may not want to return to the Nirvana. So ignorance was bliss.

Yao wanted to walk on solid ground, but Arthur had some maintenance work to do on the ship. So Arthur gave Yao some money, and told him to enjoy himself.

Since China was his home, Yao had no problem navigating the area. He went to the market and had a look at the vegetables and meats that were being sold, conversing with the store-owners in his mother tongue. He knew that the cooks would buy the necessary foods, so Yao didn't bother with them.

Yao then caught sight of a shop selling various metal accessories. There were rings, earrings, necklaces, belt buckles, brooches, metal buttons… Among them were cloak pins as well. Yao decided to buy Arthur a new pair of cloak pins for the cloak he wore on a regular basis. He looked through the collection of the various cloak pins the store had on sale, and settled on Celtic-looking one. Yao also chose a nice-looking (faux)-silver ring for Arthur, since Arthur had given him one but he hadn't given Arthur one to signify their marriage. It wasn't legal or anything, but Yao thought it would be nice to have something to give to Arthur to let Arthur know that he would love him forever. After paying for the pins and the ring, Yao decided to take a stroll on the beach.

However, on his way to the beach, Yao heard the sounds of someone crying. Rather, it sounded more like a baby crying. Yao's ears perked up, and he began searching for the source of the sound.

Eventually, Yao reached a bush, where the sound was loudest. He brushed the leaves aside, and found a crying baby on the ground, who looked about six months old, wrapped in cloth. Needless to say, Yao was stunned. Who in their right mind would abandon their baby like that? He looked around for anyone who was nearby who would have any clue who the baby belonged to. Unfortunately, there was no one, and it seemed like the baby had been long abandoned.

Yao bent down and picked the baby up. "Hello," he said to the baby. "What's your name, aru?" Yao knew the baby couldn't understand or reply him, but he was mostly talking to himself.

The baby didn't stop crying, but its cries slowly quietened down. It looked like the baby was glad that someone was finally paying attention to it.

"Are you a boy or a girl?" Yao asked. He knelt down and placed the baby on the ground. He undid the cloth covering the baby and peeked inside the baby's kaidangku. Yao found that the baby was male. "Oh, you are a cute little boy, aru!" Yao cooed, tickling the baby lightly in the stomach.

The baby's sobs turned into giggling at the ticklish sensation.

"Maybe I can adopt you!" Yao told the baby excitedly. "But you'll be living in a pirate ship… Nonetheless, it's still better than being abandoned and left to die, aru!"

Yao rewrapped the cloth around the baby's body. He walked back to the ship carrying the baby, muttering sweet nonsense to the baby so as to comfort him. Truthfully, Yao missed taking care of his siblings, and maybe taking care of this baby could fill the void he was feeling since he had been kidnapped by Mathias and Gilbert.

Yao climbed up the ship, and immediately went looking for Arthur. "Arthur!" he called.

"Over here!" came the reply.

Yao made his way over to the hull where Arthur was working on the freeboard.

"Look what I found, aru!" Yao said excitedly.

Arthur stopped what he was doing and put his screwdriver down. "What is that?" he pointed to the bundle in Yao's arms.

Yao knelt down so that he was more at level with Arthur. He showed Arthur the baby in his arms. "It's a baby!"

Arthur was flabbergasted. Yao went down the ship for a stroll and he came back with a baby? That was too much for him to take. "Doesn't it belong to someone?"

"No," Yao replied sadly. "He was abandoned, aru."

"Oh."

"Can we keep him?" Yao asked Arthur sweetly, as if he were asking Arthur if they could keep a pet.

"But… but…" Arthur was at a loss for words. "You want to raise a child in a pirate ship?"

"It's better than being left to die!" retorted Yao. "And maybe he can take over your pirate work when you retire in the future," he added suggestively.

"It's not a family business," grumbled Arthur in a small voice.

"Hm?"

Arthur looked at Yao with a distressed expression. Yao's puppy-dog eyes were not helping either. Arthur could feel himself melting at that gaze. "Argh, you really know make me give in, don't you?!"

"Look how adorable he is, aru!"

"Fine!" Arthur cried, throwing his hands up in the air. "I shall get the maids to go and buy some baby stuff."

Yao jumped in joy. "You are going to make such a great father, aru," he told Arthur, kissing him on the cheek.

"Me?" Arthur questioned. "You want me to raise this child with you?"

Yao looked incredulous that Arthur would think otherwise. "Of course!" he exclaimed. "We are kind of married now, aren't we? So we should start a family, aru!"

That didn't sound so bad to Arthur. In fact, it didn't sound bad at all. He looked at the baby in Yao's arms and stroked his hair gently. The baby was pretty cute, anyway. "So what are you going to name it?" Arthur looked unsure. "Him? Her?" He was aware that he hadn't being paying full attention to what Yao was saying when he was talking about the child's gender.

Yao smiled softly. "He's a boy, aru," he told Arthur. "I was thinking of naming him Hong Kong."

"That's a nice name," Arthur commented. He nuzzled his nose against Hong Kong's, as Hong Kong let out a disgruntled puff of air into Arthur's face. Well, at least they were bonding. Somewhat.

* * *

Later that evening, Yao gave Arthur the pair of cloak pins that he had bought from the market. Arthur looked happy that he was finally going to exchange his old ones for a pair of new ones. He immediately replaced the old ones he was wearing, marvelling how shiny the new ones looked and how beautiful they were.

"I, uh, also have something else for you, aru," said Yao shyly.

Arthur looked at Yao with interest. He didn't say anything.

Yao dug into his pocket and brought out the silver ring. "It's not as nice as the one you gave me," he babbled. "But I wanted to give you something to tell you that I love you, aru."

Arthur's eyes widened when he caught sight of the ring Yao held up. "You didn't have to…" he said softly.

Yao smiled. "But I want to," he told Arthur. "This seals our marriage, don't you think, aru?"

Arthur chuckled light-heartedly. "I don't need a ring to be married to you," he said. "But if it's what you want to give me, I will accept it."

Yao's smile widened into a grin. He gestured for Arthur to extend his hand so that he could put the ring on it. When Arthur held out his left hand, Yao slipped the ring onto his fourth finger.

When the ring was on Arthur's finger, he gathered Yao into a hug.

"I love you," Yao mumbled into Arthur's shoulder.

Arthur smiled contentedly. "I love you too." He kissed Yao's head.


	9. Chapter 9

A few years later after they had lost their brother, Yao's sibling were getting on well in life. Kiku and Yong Soo were merchants for a nearby locksmith, and Mei was a teacher in the local school.

One day, the mailman dropped off the post at their house. It was rare that the family received correspondence from anyone – everyone they knew stayed in the same village. There was no need for letters.

Mei thanked the mailman and proceeded to enter the house, clutching the envelope.

Yong Soo was having something light to eat in the dining hall when Mei entered it. "Is that the mail?" he enquired excitedly.

"Yes. It's strange, isn't it?"

Yong Soo laughed. "We rarely get any mail," he commented. "Open it! Open it!"

"Okay, okay," Mei replied, slightly annoyed with her brother. "You are so impatient."

Mei tore open the envelope and took out the paper from inside it. She unfolded the letter and began reading. Her eyes widened.

_Kiku, Yong Soo, Mei,_

_I'm very sorry for not writing sooner. I wish I had a good excuse, but the truth is, I don't._

_I don't know what you thought happened to me. Whether or not I have run away, whether or not I have died, I really don't know. But I am not dead, that's for sure._

_Well, I was taken by pirates. They captured me and made me their prisoner. But I was not treated unkindly._

_To cut a long story short, I am now in love with the pirate captain. I don't know what you must think of me, being in love with a man. But I really do love him. And Arthur loves me too. I am no longer a prisoner in the ship, and am now travelling the world and experiencing so many adventures. It is very interesting._

_And please know that I love each one of you very much too. Not a day passes that I don't think of you._

_But the fact remains that I cannot return home. For one, I wouldn't be able to find my way home. For another, I cannot leave Arthur – I love him too much._

_Know that my best wishes and prayers remain with all of you._

_I will try to write as often as I can. Of course, I can only mail it off when we dock, but it's better than nothing. And even if mail takes ages to be delivered._

_Love,  
Your brother._

"He's alive," Mei said softly.

"Who's alive?" Yong Soo asked. He held his hand out for Mei to pass him the letter.

"Big brother Yao," said Mei breathlessly, handing Yong Soo the letter for him to read for himself. "He's alive."

As soon as Mei uttered that Yao was alive, Yong Soo quickly snatched the letter from Mei. His eyes scanned through the letter, committing his brother's words to memory. When he was done, Yong Soo looked at Mei with a stupid grin on his face. "He's alive, da-ze!" he cried, engulfing his sister in a hug.

As tears of joy leaked from Mei's eyes, she embraced her brother. This was the best news she had ever received.

* * *

Now that Yao had a baby to take care of, he never let Hong Kong out of his sight (unless he couldn't help it, but he made sure Hong Kong was in good hands first). Even Arthur's crew members were growing fond of the baby, and would sometimes play with him when they had the time. Hong Kong was known as "the little Captain" amongst the staff and crew.

Feliks and Toris were currently playing peek-a-boo with Hong Kong.

Hong Kong clapped his hands excitedly and giggled delightfully whenever either Feliks or Toris shouted, "Peek-a-boo!"

Yao was watching nearby. When Hong Kong turned to look at him, Yao waved at him. Hong Kong laughed and then turned his attention back to Feliks and Toris.

Soon, however, Feliks and Toris had to get to work as watchouts in the crow's nest. They passed Hong Kong back to Yao, waved goodbye to him and headed on their way.

"Did you enjoy playing with them, aru?" asked Yao, bouncing Hong Kong on his lap.

Hong Kong made a cheerful sound in reply.

"Come on, let's get you something to eat, and then you can take your nap," said Yao to Hong Kong as he stood up, Hong Kong in his arms, and made his way to the kitchen.

After Hong Kong was full and satisfied, Yao rocked him to sleep and before long, he was dozing off.

Yao placed Hong Kong on the makeshift bed Arthur had constructed in his quarters. They didn't have a crib, so Arthur had transformed the small table in his room into a bed for Hong Kong by putting layers of soft cloth and some pillows onto it. He had even placed barriers around the table so that Hong Kong wouldn't roll off.

After making sure that Hong Kong was sound asleep and alright, Yao stretched his body. He loved Hong Kong very much, but sometimes the boy could be a handful. And as Yao took care of Hong Kong, he often found himself very exhausted. This was a much deserved break.

Yao walked out onto the deck and gazed out at the ocean. There were a few seagulls flying around, but none of them approached the ship; they were all busy looking for fish in the ocean. Nevertheless, Yao was comforted by the sound of the whooshing of seawater. He closed his eyes to relax for a while.

Not long after, Arthur came up beside Yao. "Tired, love?"

Yao opened an eye and glanced to the side. He saw Arthur grinning at him. "Very," Yao deadpanned.

"Do you need a nap?"

Yao looked appalled that Arthur would even suggest that he take a nap. "I'll have you know that I haven't taken a nap since I was very young, aru!"

Arthur smirked and turned his gaze towards the ocean. "Well, if you need to rest, then you should," he countered.

"I'm okay."

Arthur ruffled Yao's hair with his hand.

* * *

Hong Kong was missing. Well, Yao left him on the ground playing with his soft toy while he left to go to the bathroom briefly, but when he returned, Hong Kong was nowhere to be seen!

Yao knew that no one had kidnapped his child, for they were still on the ship and it was still sailing. Besides, he knew he could trust Arthur's crew – they treated Hong Kong as if he was their own son. So they wouldn't cause Hong Kong any harm. Hong Kong must have wandered off on his own. The only question now was where had he gone?

Yao hoped Hong Kong had not climbed onto the deck and fallen off the ship into the ocean. He hurriedly went to the deck and checked it surroundings. Yao even looked at the ocean in case Hong Kong really had fallen off. But the ocean was as calm as ever. Not a ripple was in sight, indicating that there was no disturbance in the water, and Hong Kong had not fallen off the ship.

Then Yao went around, asking Arthur's pirates if they had seen Hong Kong. None of them had – they were busy.

Yao went below deck, but Hong Kong was not there. He even checked all the nooks and crannies of the ship, but Hong Kong wasn't in those places either.

Yao was beginning to get frantic. He shouldn't have left Hong Kong on the ground where he could easily crawl away.

Yao looked into the maids' quarters, and asked them if they had seen a baby crawling around in the ship. None of them had.

Finally, Yao checked the kitchen. Hong Kong was sitting on the kitchen counter eating a biscuit, while the two female cooks were fawning over him. Hong Kong stuffed the last bit of biscuit into his mouth and held out his hand for more. The cooks were only too glad to give him one more.

"Hong Kong!" Yao exclaimed, running over to his son. He gathered Hong Kong into his arms and kissed his head. "Don't run away from me like that ever again, aru!"

One of the cooks giggled. "Sorry sir," she said. "He just came crawling here. We found him and put him on the counter to be comfortable, but he was interested in this tin of biscuits, so we gave him some."

"That's okay, aru," Yao replied. "He has some teeth, so it should be okay for him to eat the biscuits."

"Oh, that's good," the other cook sighed in relief. "I wasn't sure if it was okay to feed them to him!"

"Anyway, thanks, aru," Yao said to the cooks. "Come Hong, say 'bye-bye' to the nice aunties," he encouraged his son.

Hong Kong turned around in his parent's arm and waved his hand at the cooks. "Ba-ba!" he said.

"Aw," the two cooks cooed together.

Yao bowed his head in thanks once again and left the kitchen with Hong Kong. "Did you like those biscuits?" Yao asked Hong Kong.

Hong Kong snorted happily and buried his head into his father's chest. It was obvious he enjoyed the treat the cooks gave him.

* * *

It was night, and both Hong Kong and Arthur were fast asleep. Yao could hear Hong Kong snoring lightly in his makeshift bed from his position in Arthur's bed.

Arthur, on the other hand, had conked out early. He and his pirates had raided a merchant's ship that day, and were no doubt tired after a day of excitement.

Yao was silently gazing at Arthur's handsome sleeping face He looked so peaceful, and so unlike the pirate captain demeanour he put on during the day. Well, it was only in front of his crew that Arthur had the tough front. In front of Yao and Hong Kong, Arthur mellowed out almost immediately, and was very gentle and loving. Arthur even didn't get angry as often as he did before, now that he and Yao were in a relationship. It seemed that being with Yao truly made Arthur happy.

Yao planted a kiss on Arthur's forehead and settled himself comfortably beside Arthur. This wasn't how he envisioned his life to be when he was younger and thinking about the future, but Yao wouldn't have it any other way. He was contented. Yao fell asleep with a smile on his face.

A/N – Thanks to blueflower1594's idea of having Yao write a letter to his siblings letting them know that he's alive and not to worry. It made a lot of sense, and I think it's good for his siblings to have some closure as well.


End file.
